About us

We support the development of financial inclusion in Kenya.

Our work ranges from direct investment in market innovations to research and policy analysis. Everything we do seeks to harness financial solutions to meet the needs of lower income households and smaller scale businesses – to help them to manage scarce resources and invest in the future. In short, our aim is to make financial markets work better for the poor.

Our approach

Goals

FSD’s long-term goal since its inception has been to generate sustainable improvements in the livelihoods of lower-income households through reduced vulnerability to shocks, increased incomes and employment.

Objectives

Our strategy focuses on three core elements through which value is created by financial inclusion: use, cost and trust. There has long been an implicit assumption that the only important constraint is cost. This certainly remains a significant factor but it is unlikely to be sufficient. We believe that realising the promise of inclusion depends on developing financial solutions which address real world problems. In other words, we need financial services which do useful things for people and businesses. Learn more about why we believe addressing these three elements is the key to developing a financial system that delivers real value to low-income Kenyans here: Creating value through financial inclusion.

History

FSD Kenya was established in 2005 by the UK’s Department for International Development to support the development of inclusive financial markets in Kenya. The conceptual underpinning of FSD’s work is the “making markets work for the poor” (M4P) approach, which allows agencies to build on a detailed understanding of market systems and a clear vision of the future to address systemic constraints and bring about large-scale, sustainable change. FSD operates as an independent trust under the supervision of professional trustees, KPMG Kenya, with policy guidance from a programme investment committee. Current funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Swedish International Development Agency.